Chapter 3
ABEL
What. Have. I. Done? I almost ate my Fated mate. Ate. Them.
No one can ever know. My Kettle would ridicule me. Shit. They’ll hate that my Fated is a prey animal. A cute little chipmunk. Why? Why did they have to be not only cute, but one of my hawk’s favorite kind of meals?
I fly all the way back to the library. Usually, I hunt closer to home, but my instincts told me to hunt on the Rising family estate. My hawk insisted we needed to go, and I thought he was just hungry. Nope, he knew our mate was there. Mates, he insists.
I shake my head and try to clear my thoughts. There was only one.
No, someone saved the chipmunk. A squirrel shifted to catch them from a gruesome death had they splattered to the ground when I released them. There was that spark then, too.
I land on the roof and I shift in the corner, ignoring my nest. I drop my head between my knees. I deserve to shiver naked in the cold.
“Do I have two mates? No, because I almost killed one when the shock of Fate hit me so hard I thought I’d fall out of the sky. Oh, not to mention I fucking ran away. Flew away.”
What have I done? Fate gives me a mate. Mates! And I don’t even stop to say sorry, or see if they’re okay. They’re both prey animals.
I drop my head back to look to the sky. “Goddess, what have I done? I’m not worthy of one mate. Let alone two. My Kettle will despise them both. How do I protect them when I’m such a coward?”
I wonder if they realize who I am? Who are they? I don’t recall the squirrel before, but I only got the shortest of glimpses of their human form before I was gone.
I tend to stay in the library, my nest on the roof, or home.
No one trusts hawks around here and I don’t blame them.
My family’s Kettle tried to take over fifty years ago, after the new generation of Risings took over.
I wasn’t even born yet, but every baby hawk knows the story.
My family’s Kettle stays close to Mink Hollow in case the Risings slip up. But the Risings are amazing.
Wait. One of the Risings… Which one? Brought a chipmunk to Mink Hollow for his mate. What was their name? Something strange. Household item kind of name. Something shiny.
Buckle!
Oh, goddess. Buckle. The hot as sin mechanic that’s always in the library every Wednesday to pick up romance. One day he’d asked for erotica and my face went so hot I couldn’t even talk.
But he hadn’t been in the library for weeks. Hadn’t been to the monthly speed dating for a month. I’d wondered where he’d gone. At least he’s back now. Unless that wasn’t him.
“Gah! Why? Why did I follow my hawk’s instincts today? I could have caught a tasty little mouse by the creek and gone home to crochet a new scarf. But no.”
I flop to my back and stare at gray clouds, no doubt heavy with snow.
The air bites my skin and I don’t move to shift or find warmth.
I’ll just wallow in my misery. That’s what I do.
Abel, the weakling. A Beta no one wants.
Because I’m sure neither mate will want me now that I’ve run away from Fate.
I just need time. That’s it. Time to figure out an apology. He was probably terrified.
“Oh, goddess, what I’ve done is unforgiveable.”
I throw an arm over my eyes.
My hawk chuffs inside my head. They’re both perfect. Fate knows what she’s doing. He always says the thoughts I never say out loud. He doesn’t deal with my bullshit. He says things like they are. I should probably listen to him more.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. Everything is going to be fine. I just need to find a way to apologize for almost murdering one of my Fated mates. No big deal. Everything is fine. Just fine. Yep.”
In an instant, I shift back to my hawk. He’ll know what to do. I let him take over again and we’re soaring in the sky, right toward the Rising family estate.
Damnit. I’m trusting you.